Kitten

Chapter Four: Bat

Dick was now eleven and quite the criminal protege. He'd successfully robbed over half the jewellery stores in Gotham with only a few failures here and there. He'd also evaded Batman enough times to never meet the guy although he suspected that Selina had a thing for him. She always seemed either happier or angrier after encountering him and from the soap operas he was raised on, that seemed to be the hallmarks for liking someone. 

Speaking of untraditional teaching methods, Dick was homeschooled. He'd spoken to Selina about schooling since he had liked when his mother taught him things with a deep love for any tech lesson and a deep hatred for English lessons. He didn't want to be without the necessary things so Selina gave him the best computer she could get her hands on and directed him to a few websites to teach himself. Turns out, Dick was a whizz kid. He picked things up quickly and found the work easy so when he finished his lessons early, he'd work on coding and upgrades for himself. On one of these days where he was planning on installing a sort of hologram computer into his suit when an idea popped into his head. He could spend months developing this technology or he could do what his mentor did. Steal it. Yet who could he steal it from? A big business was above his skill set admittedly and he doubted any stores sold what he was looking for. There was one person he knew that left his car abandoned every single night and returned hours later. In that car was everything he needed to conduct some major upgrades. That person was none other than Batman. Stealing from The Dark Knight? Now how could he resist?

The Batmobile was usually parked in the same place every night so he knew where to look when he went out. He was planning it all day so it could be a quick in and out. He'd bring a USB and download everything he could from the car. He knew inside there was a computer that connected to the network Batman used to keep track of cases. Presumably, he used the same network for coding as well which meant after some messing around, Dick could get the information he needed. He'd download what he wanted, maybe set up a prank for the hero and then get the hell out of there. He didn't want to tempt Batman with an arrest. He'd been to jail a few times but always broke out. Still, it was annoying to be sat there with all those idiots pulling his tail and grabbing his ears. More of an inconvenience than anything else and that was an inconvenience he couldn't be bothered with. "What're you scheming?" Selina asked, noticing him writing something as she gave him his dinner. They always made sure to eat together and she couldn't help but be fascinated with all the things he could learn in a day. Usually, she was busy during the day so this was the best time to catch up on everything. "I'm robbing your boyfriend," he answered. She gave him a dig for the boyfriend comment. 

"He's not my boyfriend. What are you taking from him?"

"Some codes to upgrade my suit with. I'm not gonna leak anything if that's what you're worried about," he replied, finishing up the plans so he could eat.

"I can get it," she offered but he shook his head. 

"I wanna do it myself. Besides, it'll be fun doing it myself. We're not always gonna work together." Selina tutted and pushed some of his hair out of his face lovingly. 

"You've grown up far too quickly, Kitten. You'll be leaving me next," she commented. He laughed and rolled his eyes at her. Always one for the dramatics. He didn't even have anywhere to go! 

"It's only a job! I'm not leaving for college!" 

"I know, I know. Soon enough, you'll be roaming around Gotham without me nearby," she continued. She wore a smile as she talked about it, almost excited about the prospect of him gaining more independence. He wouldn't mind being able to roam further than the small radius she gave him. He'd love to visit the parts of Gotham he didn't see as often or maybe even further than the city. Maybe another city entirely. "Is this plan for tonight?"